Edmonton Oilers 6, Vancouver Canucks 2 FINAL

Associated Press

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- The holiday break was just what the Edmonton Oilers needed.

Mired in a monthlong slump and stuck near the bottom of the Western Conference, the Oilers emerged from four days off and played one of their best games of the season Saturday night, scoring five straight goals to beat the Vancouver Canucks 6-2.

"We had a couple of days to think about it," said Brad Isbister, who broke a 2-2 tie in the second period. "Things haven't been going that well and we've got to turn this thing around. Tonight was a big win for us so we've just got to continue to build from here."

The offensively challenged Oilers added three third-period goals to hand the Northwest Division-leading Canucks their worst loss of the season.

"We had a great Christmas break and came back and we were focused," said Ryan Smyth, who had a goal and an assist in the third period.

"It was nice for us to come from a break and get a win, especially against Vancouver," Tommy Salo said after making 32 saves for his first win in more than seven weeks. "It's always a tough game when we play them -- today was the same thing. Finally we get a win and I think that was good for us."

The victory was just the third in 16 games for the Oilers, who also snapped a four-game winless slide. Edmonton is six points back of eighth-place Nashville.

"There's lot of hockey, that's what we talked about when we came back after Christmas, just to be focused and start gaining some points and get back in the hunt," Smyth said.

Brad May and Daniel Sedin both ended long goal droughts for the Canucks, who were playing for the second straight night after winning 2-0 in Calgary on Friday.

"It was pretty clear and simple, they came in and outworked us," Canucks captain Markus Naslund said. "Overall this is a proud team and we usually battle even if we have a tough night, we usually never give up. Tonight was a little different, I thought. We usually don t get blown out like this."

May opened the scoring 2:06 into the first period on a redirection for his first goal since coming to Vancouver in a trade late last season, and his first in 40 games overall.

York tied it with a short-handed goal 7:43 into the second after Todd Bertuzzi first passed his way out of a three-on-one break in the Edmonton end, then lost York and the puck behind his own net. York beat Alex Auld on the far side with a wraparound along the ice.

It was the fourth short-handed goal surrendered by the Canucks in the last six games.

Sedin banged in a rebound at 10:40 for his first goal in 11 games to restore the Vancouver lead. Naslund appeared to extend the lead on a partial breakaway a minute later, but the play was stopped after a two-line pass, and Stoll tied it at 12:40 with his first goal in 15 games.

"Their short-handed goal gave them some life," Canucks coach Marc Crawford said. "We took it back from them when Daniel scored and we were sloppy after that."

Isbister gave the Oilers their first lead on a spin move in the slot after Mattias Ohlund and Naslund both failed to clear the puck from the right faceoff circle.

Dvorak added an insurance goal on a breakaway 2:32 into the third period, Smyth scored on the power play at 11:26, then set up Hemsky in close just over three minutes later.

"Hopefully we'll look back at this as the game that turned a forgettable stretch around," Edmonton head coach Craig MacTavish said.

Auld finished with 20 saves for his first loss in three starts for Vancouver since being recalled from Manitoba of the American Hockey League on Dec. 10.